January 21, 2015

One of my grand plans for 2015 is to post some more of my finished projects and voila! Look at me go, posting one before January is even over. Not nearly as prolific as Lauren, but a girl has to start somewhere!

This is an early 1950's pattern that I finished a short while ago and I really love it. Well...I love about 90% of it. The button band needs redoing. It looks like the cardi is far too small (I prefer them on the snug side because I often wear them with full-skirted 50's dresses) but it isn't. The button band is just far too loose.

I had hoped that blocking would shrink it down to a reasonable tension, but alas, it did not. The yarn is a recycled cotton which was lovely to work with but has next to no stretch to it. No surprise that it didn't bend to my will....

This photo shows the wonky button band in all its glory. It looks like the buttons are straining, but the sweater is actually hanging loose on my dress form. I tried to convince myself that it looked like an intentional scalloped design feature but it doesn't. It will have to be redone which will be quite a pain but my inner perfectionist has deemed it necessary. My inner perfectionist would also like you to know that the sleeves are the same length, contrary to how they look in the photo...

The collar for this cardi is a cute design feature. It incorporates ribbing at the sides and back and seed stitch on the points of the collar (I use the term "points" loosely. It's more of a Peter Pan collar) which flows nicely into the button band.

I used vintage rhinestone buttons that I had in my stash. Incredibly difficult to photograph but a gorgeous match for the variegated yellows in this sweater.

The stitch pattern is a really lovely one that I will definitely be using again. Stitches are dropped and then picked up in a way that forms little bows. This stitch, the "Little Bows Stitch" is also referred to as the "Butterfly Stitch." The pattern for the stitch is here. I think it would be lovely on a chunky knit blanket or a long scarf.

I'll be taking care of the button band as soon as I finish the current project I'm working on, and I'll be sure to post before and after photos of the difference a properly executed button band can make. I'll also scan the vintage pattern and post it at the same time, so you too can have your own wonky button band experience...unless the pattern is right and the wonkiness lies solely with the craftsperson...

January 06, 2015

Christmas has just been packed up down here on the homestead...one day late if you subscribe to the "it's bad luck to take your decorations down after Twelfth Night" superstition, but I decided to throw caution to the wind. Actually I was feeling pretty burned out from the season and just couldn't bring myself to haul out the boxes. And the decorations are pretty and pretty makes me happy...

I had grand plans of having a real tree this year - there's a Christmas tree farm across the road from me (one of the benefits of country living) and I was willing to deal with the hives (yes...I'm allergic...to trees...well, only certain evergreens but seriously, how ridiculous given my farmgirl lifestyle..) and with the renegade needles all for the sake of that lovely Christmas-y smell.

My mum has recently moved back out West and had divided the family ornaments up between my sister and me and I was really excited to have a tree full of sentimental decorations for the first time since I was a kid. Did it happen? Nope. I got hit with a nasty bug and only managed to get the house decorated on Christmas Eve, which was a good thing considering dinner was being hosted on the farm the following day. Nothing like cutting it close to the wire despite my best intentions! I did manage to pop a couple of sentimental decorations onto my quirky, little blue tree though.

When I was little, spending my childhood on a farm way out in the boonies, a huge box would arrive every Christmas from the my grandparents in the city, full of all sorts of gifts - most of them handmade. Grandma would do the most incredible wrapping job and would attach personalized items to each gift. This little scroll of sheet music was on one of mine. I don't remember what the gift was but I've held on tight to this little piece of nostalgia for decades.

Grandma passed away in 2012 at the incredible age of 97. It was one of the most difficult periods of my life for a number of reason, but her memory lives on in the little snippets of thoughtfulness that she she gave to those she loved. I'm so lucky to have this. It's hard to make out but "To Ellen From Grandma" is written at the bottom. It never ceases to make me smile.

Also putting a smile on my face is the Reindeer ornament that became an Alpaca in the creative hands of one of my besties. An Alpaca!!! She knows me well. The fuzzy beastie seems right at home with the odd looking Hedgehog-Penguin hybrid ornament and the rather confused looking owl. These guys crack me up. I was lucky enough to receive not one but two handmade ornaments from two of the most important ladies in my life, along with an incredible quilt from my talented sister. The quilt and my second ornament will pop in to say hi in a future post. I'm a lucky girl...

I'm not sure how it started but I began collecting bird ornaments years ago and every year one or two manage to find a permanent year-round home perched on an unsuspecting object. I think this jade plant is one of those objects. There's a good chance there will one day be a ridiculous amount of random birds scattered here and there but since I haven't hit that point yet he gets to stay.

My sister and I have an annual Christmas crafting night. While I'm a pretty creative girl, this year's crafting turned up a whole bunch of Pinterest fails. The evidence was destroyed but on the off chance you ever decide that making string ornaments is a wonderful idea just remember that balloons don't blow up round unless you make them ridiculously large and you will end up with lopsided, sticky, unfortunate looking monstrosities, despite numerous tutorials to the contrary...you have been warned.

Luckily enough for our bruised crafty egos, we managed to eek out half a dozen or so painted glittered pine cones each. Actually Sarah left hers natural and added glitter. I went all out with some paint. They're from the Norway Spruce in the front yard and they're quite unusual looking. I may actually do a quick little tutorial on how to make them because they're incredibly easy and really pretty and they're sparkly...I love sparkly.

Well that's it for my Christmas decorating recap. A photo heavy post for sure! I'll leave you with a shot of Mae, all decked out in her festive finery...

December 05, 2014

It's almost that time again...the time when the current year comes to an end and I spend a while with a lovely pint of something dark and my thoughts, trying to put together all the puzzle pieces of the past 12 months.

This year I've decided that while I will still spend time with my thoughts and that pint, I will spend more time pondering and planning the coming year and less time processing the last.

With that in mind here's a bit of a sneak peek into what's in store for me, the happy wee blog, the website and the shop (which will shortly multiply into two shops, but more on that in a future post.)

Are you ready? Voila...

Oooohhh...a flower...made from yarn. Ummm...whee?

Not exactly mind-blowingly exciting, I know, but these pins and their hairflower cousins will actually figure prominently into what I have up my sleeve for the coming year, and yes, that will include a more regular blogging schedule...I know it's a bit of a cryptic post but all will be revealed shortly, I promise!

October 17, 2014

When it comes to things I like I'm all over the place. Of course I love vintage, the 30's-50's mainly and as someone who has 15 rescue critters on her little farm, I obviously have a soft spot for beasties of the four-legged variety. I love classic pickup trucks (my '66 Ford included) and I absolutely adore baking.

I also love original illustrations and one of my favourite things to do is to roam around Etsy looking at the work of different artists. I collect stationery and I usually have a pretty large stockpile of cute cards for almost any occasion. Here's a selection of my current favourites. (Click on the photo to be taken to the listing.)

Warning: I may have already popped every single one of them into my cart...

As you can see, I'm a huge fan of mixing vintage and new accessories, regardless of whether I'm wearing a vintage dress or just a tank and jeans. It's loads of fun to try new combinations based on colour or style rather than just focusing on an era. You never know what you'll come up with!

August 03, 2014

I just love these. So much so that I contemplated keeping them. I thought about framing them and hanging them on the wall but I have far too many projects right now (of both the four-legged and textile variety) so into the shop they go. Sigh...

May 12, 2014

I now have two Alpacas...apparently one of them is completely unimpressed with having his photo taken.

They have arrived on the farm to guard the wee ruminants as well as to provide me with fibre that I'm not allergic to (as opposed to the fibre of one of the aforementioned wee ruminants...) Their names are Peanut (heretofore known as Peanut the Unimpressed) and Brownie. They came with the names along with the lovely, ready to be sheared coats.

I must now find someone to shear them, enrol in a spinning class (not the one my poor, neglected cardiovascular system wishes I was enrolling in, unfortunately,) find carding equipment, find a spinning wheel and learn how to skirt Alpaca fleece, not in that order.

Public Service Announcement: Alpaca ownership is a gateway to accumulating more crafting paraphenalia. Consider yourself warned.

May 10, 2014

It's been a productive couple of days in my wee studio, getting things all set up and ready to go. I finally made myself a dedicated photography space which makes me twelve kinds of happy.

Oh look, there's me...looking all happy...standing-in for myself to check my lighting. (You may recognize the dress from this post.)

I've been working on getting a few things ready for the relaunch of the shop. I managed to stumble into some items from the Victorian era through to the Twenties at an antique store...yes really. Three boxes worth...yes really. (I know, I'm still having trouble believing it.)I was on my way to a local pub with one of my closest friends for lunch and a pint and we decided to pop into a little antique store and there they were.

The moral of this story: always pop into hole-in-the-wall antique shops and Guinness is a vintage clothing girl's best friend. Anyhoo, this is a silk dress that I wish, wish, wish I fit into. Alas, I do not.

Here's a bit of a mystery for you. I posed the question on my Instagram already, but if any of you have any ideas I'd appreciate the insight. Included with those clothes was this Victorian era nightgown. It has a name and a number handwritten on the bottom of it. I'm wondering what would be the reason for this? Could the 88 be 1888? Any info would really be appreciated!

And finally, one of my latest creations. I'm really loving these collars and I think I'm going to have to make myself a couple of high necked, full skirted dresses to wear them with this spring!

May 05, 2014

Well, the arrival of two Alpacas (one of whom strongly resembles Bart Simpson) and some minor barnyard flooding due to a torrential downpour this weekend mean I still don't have any photos to show you of my completed Sew for Victory blouse. She will be finished tonight, mark my words, oh yes she will!

In the meantime I thought I would start a new little feature here on the blog. My "Yes Please" list will run the gamut from housewares to hats and everything in between. I hope you enjoy!

(Apparently I have a bit of a thing for pink...)

I would wear this blouse tucked into a light grey pencil skirt. Add a lightweight off white cardi and it would be the perfect summer/office with an airconditioner outfit. So darling!

I won't be doing any shopping for a wee bit - the critters around my place have been eating up my Etsy funds...literally, but if you happen to snap any of these pieces up, please let me know so I can live vicariously through you!

May 03, 2014

While there has be a whole lot of Forties focus on my blog lately, my absolutely favourite era for sewing patterns is the Fifties. While I adore the styles of the Thirties and Forties, my bust-to-waist-to-hip ratio places me firmly in the Fifties in terms of silhouettes that suit my bod. With that in mind I present you with some lovely Fifties hair inspiration (how's that for an awkward segue? I was hoping you hadn't noticed...ummm...oh look...cute hair...)

I think there's definitely a ponytail with a ribbon in my future this weekend!

Happy hairstyling!

xox Elle

ps I have no idea where I found this illustration. If you know, please let me know and I'll pop a credit up here. Thanks!

May 02, 2014

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm in the midst of a full house orgainization project. While some may choose to start such a project in the kitchen or the closet, I chose to start mine in my sewing room. I have projects scattered all over the house, so my reasoning was that if I had somewhere for those projects to live while I wasn't working on them, my home would be tidier. I'll let you know how that goes. Currently this is the only room that doesn't look like a bomb hit it. It's pretty, smells all lovely and girly and is organized. I'm tempeted to grab a blanket and start sleeping on the floor...

I have all of my trim organized by colour in these wonderful boxes from Michaels. They're usually on sale for only a few dollars each and they come in lovely patterns and colours and have a handy little metal taggy thingy for labeling the contents. I love them.

My button collection has always been a nightmare. If I had just been content to sit and ogle their sparkly loveliness, keeping them in one container would have worked perfectly. My vintage buttons are used for projects though so I needed a way to quickly see what I had available to me. I organized them in one of these handy dandy small bits storage cases. Each drawer has different coloured buttons in it. Labels will be attached soon, but as you can see, it's easy to tell which colour is in each drawer. My buttons on cards are stored in one of the boxes I mentioned above but I'm thinking of organzing them into an inexpensive photo album so I can easily see what I have. I'll store this beside the cabinet.

My pin board is home to a few different collections. I keep my vintage belt buckles here so I can see them for inspiration when I'm making something that requires a belt. I have some random pretty things hanging there too. Old button cards with floral motifs on them that I love, vintage thread that is well past being useful but that I like the look of and a little laminated card from my Dad that reads "In the midst of chaos lies creativity." He knows me well...

I have a number of sewing related things on the board as well, including some needle books, a random scallop template and a chart of embroidery stitches that I found in a vintage pattern envelope. (I once found a WWII soldier's discharge card which, after doing my best Inspector Clouseau impression, I managed to return to one of his family members. Cool things can be found in vintage pattern envelopes...keep your eyes open!)

Cool things can also be found in thrift stores. I picked up these Frances Hook prints for a dollar each a while back and I love them. There are a few on Etsy right now if you're a fan of her work. I just love the 60's big eyed innocence and...well...kittens!

Well, that's it. I hope you've enjoyed the peek into my little oasis and I hope that it may have given you a few ideas for creating your own island of creative calm.

May 01, 2014

The muslin came together really well and fit almost perfectly with only my usual Erect (or short) Back Adjustment to be done. (I think I'll do a post on this adjustment at some point because there's very little information out there on the Interwebs about it and I can't be the only one who stands up really straight...)

It's an interesting pattern. The front piece is cut in one layer on the bias and both back pieces are cut on the grain. It's one of the earlier printed patterns (late 40's,) which makes things easier but as you can see in the photo above, the instructions leave something to be desired. I especially like the random arrows pointing all over the place to the illustrations. Nothing like a vintage pattern to make you think you're losing your marbles...anyway, if I ever get it finished (ack!) I'm sure it will be lovely. Thankfully Rochelle let me know last night that she has extended the sewalong deadline to May 5th, so my frantic Pinot Noir-fueled sewing evening ended with a deep breath and an early bedtime.

I don't have any photos of the blouse in progress for you (I tried, but they just looked kind of meh) so instead I will leave you with photos of the two newest recruits to my minion ranks.

Meet Bogie the lamb and Baby Bacall the goat.

They're a couple of orphans who were rescued from auction in mid-March and ended up in the cab of my pickup truck after I stopped at my local feed store for some hay for the horses and ran into a rather confused woman who had them in her mini-van.

Here they are seconds after I said "sure, they can come home with me" and seconds before I thought "what the hell have I just done?" Scruffy, one week old and wearing sweaters made of work socks. How could I not take them?

Although their arrival was totally unplanned, they're absolutely amazing, endlessly entertaing and welcome additions to my little farm. They're pretty high-maintenance for minions-in-training though. I have to bottle feed them twice a day and I've ended up recruiting two wonderful Alpacas to watch over them. There are too many coyotes in my neck of the woods to leave them in the pasture alone. I'll now have wool and Alpaca fibre at my disposal once I find someone to shear them and somewhere to process the fibre. This may all land me squarely in the poorhouse, but for now my rose coloured glasses world view is chalking it up to a win. I'll keep you posted!

Happy ruminating (hee hee...couldn't resist. Although I recognize that I probably should have.)

April 30, 2014

In the spirit of the Sew For Victory 2.0 Sewalong I thought I'd put together a collection of Forties dresses and patterns that are currently for sale on Etsy and are just perfect for the warmer weather we're heading into here in the Northern Hemisphere.

This stunning day dress with a 36" bust. Priced at $88 and currently for sale here.

I just adore this playsuit!!! So adorable. Bust 36" and available here for $14.50.

The perfect summer dress in a gorgeous blue floral print. Bust measures 38". Priced at $124 and available here.

April 29, 2014

Last year, when the lovely and talented Rochelle of Lucky Lucille announced her Sew for Victory Sewalong, I hopped on board with complete abandon, choosing not one but two 1940's dresses to sew. Needless to say, I barely finished one of the two dresses, mainly because of having to sew the whole thing on my "new" non-electric treadle sewing machine after my Forties electric machine bit the bullet.

This year, in true Elle form, I have managed to leave myself two evenings to finish my make (ironically this is due to the fact that I'm in the process of a full house organization project...apparently getting the hang of time management is next on my to-do list.) Thankfully it appears to be an easier make than the dresses I planned last year were, and I'm hoping that it will be one of my go-to blousepatterns. I'll let you know as soon as it's finished...all being well tomorrow night. Gulp.

Here's a sneak peek of the pattern, fabric and buttons:

In true Make Do and Mend fashion, everything for this project is from my stash. I'm using a drapey crepey fabric in a pale dove grey. I can't for the life of me remember where I got it or what it's made of, but it looks like it will fit the bill. The buttons are vintage, I'm guessing they're pre-1930's and are from Paris. I'm fancy like that. Not really...I thrifted a whack of them a couple of years back. ;-) Being a button-up-the-back blouse, I'm optimistic that my skills as a contortionist will allow me to button this blouse with a minimum of injury, but only time will tell.

In the meantime I thought I'd show you the second dress from the original Sewalong that eventually did get made.

It's the cutest little dress! I can see this being one of my go-to patterns as well. Such a simple dress (after omitting the bow) and extremely comfortable to wear. I used a vintage seersucker in a mustard yellow and warm teal colourway on a white background. It's still chilly around here so I paired the dress with tights and a cardi, but I have the perfect mustard yellow sandals waiting in the wings for warmer weather.

(I just realized as I was writing this post, that I didn't make the matching belt! I think I'll have to whip one up...it looks pretty cute on the pattern envelope.)

I didn't make many changes to the pattern. I didn't have to do my usual full-bust adjustment because of the gathering at the bustline and other than the normal Short Back Adjustment (as I've mentioned before, it's similar to a swayback adjustment, but the excess fabric is removed between the shoulderblades, then the armsrye is enlarged to compensate.) I did fold back and tack down the top of the sleeves because the seersucker is quite stiff and the sleeves stuck out a bit farther than my narrow shoulders were comfortable with (they have a bit of a complex.)

All in all I love this pattern! And...ummm...did I mention the pockets?? I would make this again on the basis of the pockets alone. They make the whole where-to-put-my-hands-during-posing thing so much easier.

April 28, 2014

Once a loooong time ago I started working on a cardi from a vintage fifties pattern. Then, many moons ago I finished it...and wore it...a bunch. I love it and realized the other day that it deserved a blog post of it's own (along with my many completed projects that are in line for their day in the spotlight here on this little blog. Stay tuned!)

These photos were taken after a day at work, so excuse my slightly rumpled look. This sweater took quite a while to knit up. As I mentioned in my original post, it was made with Debbie Bliss' Rialto Lace yarn on 2.75mm needles. At one point I was knitting at work and my friend Steve, of the amazing It Takes Balls to Knit blog looked at me like I was nuts and said "it's all stocking stitch??" Yup. A glutton for punishment, that's me.

I used some adorable buttons from my stash that I've been carting around for quite some time. Shiny black and faceted. So cute and such a great match for the mauvey pink of this cardi.

The only place I deviated from the pattern instructions was on the front and neck facing. I realized that I was running out of yarn at an alarming rate so I decided to crochet until I could crochet no more, which ended up being a few rows. Just enough to make it look like it was meant to be finished with tiny, little crochet stitches. Right? cough cough...right?

I managed to save just enough yarn to finish off the button holes, thankfully.

And here is a random, weird angle shoe shot, because even though I've had these shoes for years I love, love, love them. Believe it or not they're from Naturalizer and they're as comfortable as they are cute! The dress is a vintage early 60's one that I've had for years. I suspect that everytime I carefully wash it, it gets shorter due to the open weave of the fabric it's made from. I doubt I'm still growing.

And last but not least, a shot of Fred Astaire the Photobombing Dog. He's a former shelter pup and is the newest member of the household. The sweetest big cuddle monkey ever (see that wagging tail?) but a total attention hog! I had to banish him to the backyard to finish taking these photos.

February 21, 2014

Apparently we interrupted our regular scheduled programming for a bit of an unscheduled break, so I thought I'd dip my toes back into Blogland with a collection of a few Instagram shots of work, play and critters taken between my last blog post and now:

May 10, 2013

One of the things about Marilyn Monroe that is often overlooked was her sense of style. Her enduring status as an icon and as a sex-symbol often overshadows the fact that she had a well defined sense of personal style that was, surprisingly, a lot simpler than many of her contemporaries. The candid shots of her dressed in casual wear are some of my favourites, although it would seem that she had a fair amount of control over her on-screen wardrobe as well.

Whether reading at home or acting on film, she is rarely seen in printed fabrics and although many of the shots of her are in black and white, it seems that her preferred colours were just that...black, grey, beige, cream and white, with some red thrown in for good measure.

One of the things I've noticed with my sewing is that I tend to sew garments in printed fabrics, but the clothes that I buy ready-to-wear are usually solids. It was only in studying and admiring Marilyn's style that I had a lightbulb moment - no wonder I haven't been wearing many of the things I make!!! I love the bright, shiny, original aspect of prints and colours and all that craziness but the pieces I wear are usually monochromatic. I may have to rethink my sewing stash...looks like everyone's getting a quilt for Christmas!

I will leave you with one of my favourite Marilyn quotes, and a photo where I can only imagine those words escaping her lips...

"Ever notice how 'What the Hell' is always the right answer?" Marilyn Monroe

I decided that I would try to make my own version of them. Never mind the fact that I'm a horse-riding girl and my legs are more muscly and less Gazelle-like, I was determined to make them.

I found my pattern, the Collette Clover and my fabric, 12 metres of heavy pink damask found while thrifting for $9.00 (whee!) Oh, and no, my legs aren't that muscular - there will be a whole lot of pink upholstery fabric left over. Enough to upholster the antique chesterfield in the living room or perhaps make a full-skirted 50's party dress, or perhaps both. I could wear it while sitting on the couch and be totally invisible. Girly girl camo if you will. Tempting...

Anyhoo, after 4 muslins (yes 4) I'm close to finished. I know many of you know this but pants are hard! Especially slim fitting cigarette pants. I managed to turn 2 muslins into wearable-ish barn pants and so far the horses seem to approve, although that may be because whenever they see them, I have a bucket of grain in my hands, but at least they weren't all wasted (the muslins, not the horses...) The pants in my (chesterfield's) fashion fabric are now fully lined and sewn together and all that's left to finish are the waistband, zipper and hems. I'll have to do a bit of fiddling with the seam at the hips too. They seem to be a bit baggy, oddly enough, considering the dastardly muslinland I lived in for weeks.

I'm really not sure if these are going to get worn, but I'll see them through to the end and I will definitely write a post showing the finished product. I'm not sure how I managed to completely avoid matching up the pattern but my obsessive sewing side will have to have a glass of wine and chill out because even though I have oodles of this fabric, I really, really don't want to go back to square one with this project.

Here's a close-up of the fabric.

Speaking of wine, I'm really happy to be back in the Land of Blog following a really unfortunate incident involving my new pink Sony laptop and a glass of Pinot Noir. If you follow me on Facebook you'll know the whole sordid story but the short version is that no one would take it apart and fix it. No one. Not even the "Geeks" so I did what any Make Do and Mend girl would do and I took it apart myself, doused it with rubbing alcohol (ironic, considering the fact that wine had done the damage in the first place,) put it back together, turned it on, celebrated for 30 seconds until my keyboard stopped working, took it apart again, ordered a new keyboard, waited, waited, waited, put it back together again and voila! I am now up and running! My laptop was only 3 months old, so needless to say I was really not happy with myself and my clumsy ways. My lesson has been learned and the powers that be have been thanked.

I'll keep you posted on the chesterfield pants. I hope to finish them this week.

April 04, 2013

I was soooo excited about the wonderful Sew For Victory Sewalong, hosted by the equally wonderful Rochelle of Lucky Lucille. I had oodles of time and chose not one, but two Forties patterns to work with. In the spirit of WWII's Make Do and Mend campaign, I decided to only use fabric and notions from my stash and carefully matched up notions, fabric and patterns and got down to business. I finished the muslin for the first dress and then promptly came down with a nasty bug that had me doing nothing but feeling sorry for myself for close to a week. When the lurgy passed, I immediately scooted into my sewing room and sat down at my machine, ready to make quick work of pattern number one and then start on pattern number two as the deadline for the Sewalong was fast approaching.

My primary machine is a Singer Model 99 from 1945. It's fully electric and is capable of an awesome straight stitch. That's its only stitch, but it straight stitches really, really well...usually.

This is what greeted me immediately upon starting to sew:

What the? Oh. Hello broken Tension Spring. Luckily I have three other machines. I have my Grandmother's late Sixties Singer which is in the shop having the feed dog replaced. I also have a lovely, late 1800's Singer that was generously gifted to me by Derek's brother two Christmases ago. It's been converted to an electric model, but it has a vibrating shuttle which means that I need to learn a whole new way to sew and I didn't feel that this was the project to break the machine in on. That left me with backup machine number 3...

That's right. No plug. No electricity. I sewed the entire freaking dress on my 1915 Singer treadle machine. It took some getting used to! I'm not the most coordinated person in the world and pulling pins while operating the treadle with my feet was akin to rubbing my tummy while patting my head with dozens of sharp pokey objects in my fingers and an iron wheel that could probably damage an unsuspecting toe or two. In light of this, I hand basted every seam before sewing. Yes. Every seam.

Once I got the hang of the rhythm of the treadle, it was actually really enjoyable. There's something to be said for going back to basics and while I thought sewing on a Forties straight stitch electric was pretty basic, I seem to have outdone myself!

So, onto the dress itself:

I used a purple fabric from my stash that had a fair amount of stretch in it. This allowed me to eliminate the side zip, which was great as there was no way I was going to attempt a zipper insertion with a treadle sewing machine. I'm sure I would have ended up inadvertently piercing my eyebrow or some other random body part in the process.

I f you look closely, you can see the faint stripe in the fabric, which really lent itself to the bodice of the pattern. I used pale pink ric rac along the neckline and I managed to find a small piece of purple polka dotted fabric to make the belt. I have a number of vintage belt buckles hanging on my bulletin board in my sewing room, waiting to be used and this little pink one was perfect!

I have a few odd fitting issues that I have to deal with and I think that I *finally* figured them out with this dress. I have a narrow ribcage and a full bust, which luckily was dealt with by the bust gathers on this pattern so I didn't have to do my normal Full Bust Adjustment, I only needed to bring the side seams in a bit. I also have to do an Erect Back Adjustment (similar to a Swayback Adjustment but the extra fabric is removed from between the shoulder blades) and a Full Arm Adjustment. They all turned out pretty well! I could have brought the side seams in a little more, but I don't mind the extra ease.

In this photo you can see the detail on the sleeves. I really love this technique and I'm so happy with the fit of this dress, that I think I may make a few blouses using the top half of the pattern.

Details:Fabric: Thrifted purple stretchy stuff from my stash. I tried a burn test, but it was inconclusive. The only thing I'm sure about is that it's definitely not made out of asbestos.Pattern: Simplicity 3353 Year: Early FortiesNotions: Pink Ric Rac, vintage purple polka dot fabric and vintage pink buckle all from stashTime to complete: Ummmm....

I'm waiting for my Grandma's machine to come out of the shop before I send the Forties Singer in for repair, so I'll be continuing the treadle saga for a little while yet (parts for Grandma's machine are backordered.) Next in line is a pair of Clovers (I'm a little late hopping on that bandwagon,) and then I hope to make the second dress I had planned to complete for the Sewalong. It's going to be a busy, little workshop around here!

Happy sewing!

xox Elle

ps I'd like to say a big "Thank You" to Rochelle for hosting this Sewalong! The completed projects are all incredible and I'm in awe of the creations that many of the participants were able to pull off.

pps I'm not sure if I mentioned this in an earlier post, but Derek bought me the treadle for Christmas this year and I love, love, love it for many reasons, not just for the fact that it saved my butt for this Sewalong!

March 08, 2013

Here in the frozen north (I'm being dramatic...I live on the coast, we're more of a rainforest, but it's been a chilly winter) we are all getting excited about Daylight Savings Time. This weekend the clocks "spring ahead" and this yearly ritual is an indicator that warmer weather is right around the corner!

In the spirit of longer days and warmer temperatures I thought I'd put a little collection of vintage Fifties patterns together. These are all for sale on Etsy right now, so if you're itching to start working on your very own Spring/Summer Collection here are some patterns to inspire you.

I love, love, love the ruched sleeves and the keyhole tie detail at the neckline. For sale here.

Stripes scream summer to me and this chevron patterned dress is gorgeous! For sale here.

I'm a huge fan of halter neck tops and I just adore that halter blouse is the focal point in this collection of separates. For sale here.

This pattern is the perfect way to put a little bit of wiggle into your summer! For sale here.

I hope this little group of patterns has got you dreaming of sunny days and warm winds. I'll be the pasty pale, UK-skinned woman scurrying from shady tree to shady tree...summer isn't my best time of year, but I'm still excited about warmer weather!

March 06, 2013

After last week's Thrifty Thursday post where I mentioned Lucky Lucille's Sew For Victory Sewalong, I got to thinking and decided that even though I was a couple of weeks late, I would join in on the fun. I pulled out all of my Forties patterns and narrowed it down to two. I couldn't really decide between them as they were two very different dresses for two very different seasons, so I decided that I would try to make both of them. Nothing like starting something two weeks late and setting the bar twice as high huh?

Here's the dress I'll be making first:

I'll be making the short sleeved version on the right with the fabric shown below it. It's a deep auburgine colour with a nice drape and is quite thick. Almost all of the fabrics in my stash are thrifted and unless it's a fragile lace or velvet, or if it's wool, they all get tossed in the washer and dryer. This was no exception and it turned out fine. I'd rather find out ahead of time whether a colour is going to bleed or if the fabric is going to do something weird when washed. There's nothing worse that putting hours into making a dress, washing it once and realizing that it's only fit for the rag bag.

One of the issues I had with this pattern is an obvious one...there is a fair bit of water damage. The pattern is fine, the pattern pieces are all intact, but the envelope is definitely worse for wear and unfortunately the bit where the size is marked is faded and it's impossible to read the second number. This pattern is either a 16 (34 bust) or an 18 (36 bust.) Needless to say, I didn't pick the most straightforward of all patterns in my collection! Oh, and did I mention that like most pre-Fifties patterns, this one was unprinted? Yippee!

This is the second pattern I chose:

The fabric beneath it is a vintage seersucker in a warm teal blue and mustard floral print. I think this would be a great dress for summer with a pair of mustard coloured sandals! I'm a very pale reddish-head, so the cut-out option on the left isn't an option (I don't want to blind passersby if the sun hits my tummy in just the right way,) so I'll be making the dress on the right.

Anyhoo, back to the purple dress...

In the spirit of the Make Do and Mend mentality during the War years, everything I'm using for this dress is coming out of my collection of vintage notions. I also have a piece of vintage purple polka dot fabric that wasn't printed on the grain properly, but I think it will be perfect for the belt as it will be fused and stitched within an inch of its life, so being off-grain shouldn't matter...I hope. It also just so happens to be the perfect shade of purple to go with this dress.

For the neckline trim and the pocket trim I''ll be using ric rac, but I'll apply it in such a way that just the tiniest bit of pink shows. I'm hoping this will work. If not I'll switch to a vintage white lace trim. The buckle is one I've carted around with me for quite awhile and I think it will be perfect!

Immediately after deciding on the pattern and choosing the fabric, I got right to work on my muslin. I don't always do a muslin - I know that I usually need an FBA, a Short Back Adjustment (similar to a Swayback Adjustment, but the fabric removed is across the shoulderblades) and a Full-Arm adjustment (getting yanked around by ex-racehorses = muscles where no muscles were before, apparently...) but because I had no clear idea of the size of this pattern, I figured that I would just go ahead, cut it out and sew it together and figure out my next step from there.

It's cute, isn't it? As you can see by the gathers at the front, no Full Bust Adjustment was necessary. I had to add 1/2" to the side of each pattern piece including the shoulder seam, cut out over an inch for the Short Back Adjustment and add some room to the bottom of the arms, but all in all it was pretty great!

This pattern is interesting because both the bodice front and the sleeve are each one pattern piece. The gathers aren't added in separately, they are just a long extended piece that you slash, gather and sew, so there is no added piece at the waistline, it's just all flows together.

With vintage, unprinted patterns, I always write the pattern number and the piece name (ie C - Bodice Front or whatever it is named in the instructions) on the tissue in pencil. I know many sewists like to keep their patterns pristine, but with unprinted patterns, if one piece happens to flutter off your worktable or fall to the floor behind your sewing machine, there will be absolutely no way to know which pattern it came from when you find it months later (yes I speak from experience.)

I don't trace my vintage unprinted patterns, but I only use most of the pieces once. As I mentioned earlier, I cut out my muslin, as is, transfer all of the markings, dot-by-dot, sew it together, make all of the adjustments, sew it together again, try it on and when it's absolutely perfect, out comes the seam ripper and I tear it all apart. Why tear it apart? So I can have the perfect pattern pieces for the next time I make the dress without destroying a vintage pattern and without time-consuming tracing. How do I do this? Freezer paper. Let me explain:

I figure that since I've already cut out the muslin, rather than tossing it into the rag bag, using it as a template is a good idea. (I don't like to make wearable muslins because I find that I never get around to making the actual item out of the chosen fabric - I just move on to the next project.) After I've taken the muslin apart (all adjustments need to be sewn-in/added etc. first) I iron each piece and then cut a piece of Freezer Paper big enough to cover the pattern piece. Freezer paper has a plastic coating on one side that easily fuses to fabric. You can find it in the grocery store with the cling-film and aluminum foil. Don't buy wax paper - it's not the same thing and will destroy your iron! I place the pattern piece upside down on my ironing board and iron a piece of Freezer Paper onto it.

*Note: Be absolutely sure that you have the plastic side down and iron on the paper side or you will wreck your iron!

I then flip the pattern piece over, cut around the edges and write the pattern number, manufacturer and pattern piece on it along with any notes like "Place on Fold" or grain lines, which on unprinted patterns are shown with different sized dots. I use a good, old fashioned Sharpie for this. After I'm finished with the project, I just fold the pieces up and store them in a freezer sized Ziplock along with the original pieces and pattern envelope. It takes up more room but for a pattern I know I'll make again, it definitely saves a whole lot of steps!

Well, there you have it! I'm hoping to have my fabric all cut out and ready to sew by the end of the day today so I'm off to the ironing board. I'll leave you with a photo of the notions I chose for my other Forties dress. I'm undecided as to whether to make the belt out of the seersucker or to use something else. Any suggestions?

March 01, 2013

Happy Friday! As you may, or may not know, I live on a farm on a small acreage. We currently have 3 horses with another 2 arriving shortly. My horse, Carson, is a rescue from Circle F Horse Rescue. He is a gorgeous boy and quite the handful! He spent five successful years on the track, racing under the name Big Manila (yes, really) and is descended from Northern Dancer and Native Dancer. Following his career on the track, he was trained as a Hunter Jumper but was injured a number of years later and found himself at the horse rescue when his young owner could no longer show him and afford to pay for both his keep and her university tuition. To make a long story short, I fell in love with this gentle giant and adopted him. He's had a lazy year as I've been working a lot, but little does he know, he's going to be spending a good chunk of time getting back into shape this spring!

This is probably one of the most ridiculous faces I've ever managed to have caught on film (the phrase "ooooh...horsey...soft" is going through my head apparently...) Thanks for the pic Jess!

Charliehorse is our second horse. He was given to us by one of Derek's friends who had adopted him from the auction. Following a horsey acting stint in Doctor Dolittle 3, he was sent to auction by his trainer and was thankfully bought by Shawn who learned to ride on him and who passed him on to us when he found himself with three horses and no spare time. Charliehorse and Carson are the best of friends and spend their pasture time chasing each other around and generally causing a ruckus...and occassionally leaving a trail of superficial, bite related injuries, located primarily on Charliehorse's big head.

Our sweet girl Angel is our third horse. She came to us as the result of a frantic email from a friend of mine. Apparently this little mare was due to be put down on the following Monday (it was Saturday when the email came) and my friend was asking if I had any room on the farm to keep her until a permanent home could be found. Needless to say, she arrived that day...and never left. We fell in love with her calm and gentle disposition and even though she's an old girl, I'm sure she's got a number of years left. I just adore this little horse! (Ignore the "Feb 83" on the photo - it was taken with a Hipstamatic filter that adds retro dates to the prints, although she was probably born only a few years after this date...sneaky Hipstamatic.)

The profiles of the other two horses who have yet to arrive will have to wait until a later date as I need to get to know them before I attempt to regale you with their antics, although they come with the unfortunate names Fila and Reebok, which should be a good indicator of future shenanigans, as I feel that one can't be boring when named after sneakers.

Anyhoo...you may be wondering what all of this horsiness has to do with Fifties Friday. Well, as I currently do most of my barn chores in non-vintage appropriate barn gear (read: yoga pants and hoodies) I started thinking about making myself a vintagey barn wardrobe as I do tend to spend a good chunk of my day doing barn and farm stuff.

As I searched around looking for images to inspire me, I fell in love with images of these gorgeous Fifties cowgirls, some are real cowgirls and some are actresses in cowgirl garb, but I think you'll agree that the inspiration they provide is wonderful!

Source

Red lips matching her hat, scarf and the stripes on her blouse? A perfect example of Fifties colour co-ordination.

Buttery yellow and warm red are one of my favourite colour combinations. I also love seeing blondes with Palomino horses...will my adoration of colour co-ordination know no bounds? It's not the reason that one of our new horses is a chestnut who matches my reddish hair...really it's not.

I hope you've enjoyed this journey into the Wild West, vintage style. I'd love to hear which of the photos is your favourite and I'll be sure to keep you up-to-date on the creation of my vintage farmgirl wardrobe.

February 28, 2013

There has been a fair bit of press in the old interwebs lately for the various "make do and mend" publications that came out during WWII. This is probably the result of a number of different circumstances ranging from the dismal economic climate that far too many folks around the world are dealing with, to the resurgence in the popularity of the 1940's. From television programs such as Foyle's War and Wartime Farm (two of our favourites out here on the homestead) to Sewalongs like the one Rochelle is hosting at Lucky Lucille (as an aside...I adore Lucille! She's so sweet!) and Forties wardrobe creation challenges like the one Sarah at 1940's Vintage Wardrobe Challenge has started, Forties inspiration is everywhere and it doesn't seem to be slowing down.

A number of years ago, I was lucky enough to come upon one of the original "make do and mend" booklets from that era. "Make and Mend For Victory" was a book produced in 1942 by The Spool Cotton Company. It included instructions on how to mend and patch items to extend their life (totally unheard of in today's throw-away society,) how to reclaim wool from sweaters (I've done it...that was a whole lot of work...,) how to take a man's suit and use the fabric to make a new woman's suit, and how to add variety to a simple dress with a number of different collars, hats and accessories.

Today, in the spirit of Thrifty Thursday, I though I would scan the photos and instructions for the collars. Just right click on the photo, save it to your computer and print off a copy. If you decide to make one, two or all of these options, please send me a photo of the finished product - I'd love to see them!

Enjoy!

I thought I would end with the Consumer's Victory Pledge from the first page of the booklet. Imagine living in a time when taking a pledge like this was not an option. When, if you were a farmer in the UK, your farm could be taken away from you by the government (the War Ags) if you were not producing enough milk and vegetables to contribute to the war effort and when your only hope for a new dress was to eke out as much fabric from feedsacks as you could.

It's my sincere hope that we never have to relive the hardships that our grandparents and great-grandparents did (my Mum was born in England in 1942 and her Mum, my Nanny, was a pediatric nurse in Northern England during the war...a difficult job to be sure,) but the fashions of the day were gorgeous and the make-do-and-mend mentality was admirable. If I haven't missed the deadline I may just start planning my entry for Rochelle's Sew-Along!

xox Elle

ps If you'd like your own copy of this wonderful book there are some for sale here, here and here.

I hope everyone is having a lovely Tuesday evening! This is the last night of the sale and even though this is a brand new shop update, everything you see above is also 25% but only until midnight tonight.

February 22, 2013

Good morning! For this installment of Fifties Friday, I thought I'd treat you to some images from the February 1952 edition of the "Butterick Fashion News." I found this little flyer folded up in a vintage pattern that I purchased and I fell in love with all of the details that were available in the designs for the dresses in early '52. Just click on the photos to enlarge them.

This Swing Coat with the oversized pockets and cuffs is lovely!

I may have to try to find Butterick 6036 - the scallops and the buttons are incredible!

There are some fantastic details in this section, the pussy-bow blouse in the top left is gorgeous and I just love the accessories in the centre illustration, including the vintage muff worn casually on the arm.

Also from the top left corner is the dress above. The collar detailing is very interesting although given my experience with the neckline on Butterick 7503, this may not be a pattern I try to track down any time soon...

Clothing for teens and girls in the Fifties was so wonderful! The tuck detailing on 5992 in the center is lovely and the scallop and button detailing on 6033 at the right mimics the scallop detailing on 6036 which I mentioned before. I have a soft spot for little girls who wear dresses that are a version of the ones their Mum's wear...perhaps I should start putting money aside for therapy on the off-chance that I one day have a daughter, poor thing.

Last but not least is this ensemble. Thriftiness was still encouraged in the early 1950's and rationing in the US had ended only 6 years prior to the publication of this booklet in 1952 (In the UK, rationing continued until July 1954.) This grouping of patterns above were designed to provide the wearer with "a terrific 'round-the-clock separates plan." The simple 6-gore skirt was designed to go with numerous blouse options, including 6045 for the "softly-tailored daytime outfit," 6042, the "unusual blouse for anytime wear" (love the collar!) and 5957 "your after-five choice" (scallops!) Coming from an era where many of us have closets jam-packed with clothes that don't go with each other, the simplicity of capsule dressing is very refreshing.

I hope each of you have a wonderful weekend!

xox Elle

ps Just a reminder that the Mid-Winter sale is continuing in the shop until midnight on February 27th

February 20, 2013

I can't believe that it's mid-February and this is my first finished make of 2013, but regardless of my slow start to the year I'm happy!

This dress gave me a lot of grief. (Here's the original post on this dress while it was still a UFO.) While I adore vintage patterns, I sometimes feel that there were sewing baskets full of secrets and magical sewing do-dads that were passed down from mothers to daughters in years prior to the 1960's, including, of course, a secret decoder ring for translating cryptic pattern instructions. Either that or post-war pattern makers employed out of work spies well-versed in code writing to compile the instructions for their sewing patterns. Either way, the instructions for the neckline of View C were not easy to follow. I ended up fiddling with the facing for days and then put the dress on a hanger for a couple of months. I rarely put my UFO's away out of view, because I know that I easily fall victim to never thinking of them again, so this dress hung in it's unfinished glory directly across from our bed, mocking me every morning upon waking until I finally jerry-rigged the facing, took the required 4 inches off the hem, sewed on the lace seam binding and hand-sewed the hem.

In my original post, I wrote that I was very chuffed with myself because even though I hadn't made a muslin, the bodice "fits perfectly!" Ummm...nope.

Hello wrinkles of extra fabric! Pleased to see you! Oh wait...no I'm not. I have a short back and I always need to do a short-back and sometimes also a sway-back adjustment. Did I do one here? Nope. I did, however, do a full-sleeve adjustment. Was it necessary? Nope. Sigh.

Even though I've been sewing for years, I still have a bit of trouble with fit. I've got a really narrow ribcage and shoulders but a full bust so I'm still struggling to find the perfect vintage pattern-size/pattern adjustment combo that will give me a perfect fit every time. My feeling is that a pattern with a bust size of 34 (for the narrow shoulders/ribcage) plus an FBA and a little bit extra added to the waist would be that magical combination. I'll have to look through my patterns and see what I can find in the 34" bust size. I'm not sure if I'm going to alter the back on this dress as I almost always wear my dresses with cardigans. We'll see...

The fabric was a really lovely vintage cotton blend that I thrifted some time ago. I like the warm earthy tones and the floral pattern. I'm a huge fan of florals but live in fear of looking like an walking sofa, so I'm rather picky about the patterns I choose to work with. This little leather belt with the tiny buckle were found at an estate sale over 10 years ago. It's so small that I always forget that I have it (it's usually dwarfed on the hanger by my bigger belts) but it works really well with this dress.

Here's a side view of the dress, made a little more vintage-appropriate by the fifties alligator embossed leather pumps that I had initially bought for the store but which fit so perfectly that I can't bear to part with them! I switched to the cardi and boots when my fella and I went out for dinner later as I'm always chilly, especially in this rainy, coastal climate and there's nothing attractive about shivering your way through dinner and trying to make conversation with chattering teeth.

Here's one last photo for you of the dress sans-cardi. I have no idea why I have Jazz-hands and even though I work in television and am very, very familiar with lighting techniques, my peepers in this photo resemble those of a rascally racoon. Sadly, this is the only photo that a) shows the dress and b) is in focus, so here you go...

In short, I'd definitely recommend this pattern (there's one for sale here if you're interested.) As I mentioned in the earlier post, I'm definitely going to make the pencil skirted, Peter Pan collared version, but I'll be sure to make it with all of the required adjustments...who knows, there may even be a muslin involved!

February 19, 2013

Our internet has been on the fritz for over 2 weeks. At first it would pop in and out (I can't tell you how many blog posts I lost as a result) and then it just...stopped. My fella arrived home and promptly ran out to pick up a new modem and used this as a perfect excuse to upgrade our internet speed (I think he'd had this planned all along...) and voila! We're happily back up and running in the land of the interwebs.

In celebration of my return to the land of the cyberliving I'm holding a Mid-Winter Sale in the shop. Beginning at midnight tonight and running until midnight on February 26th everything in the store is 25% off.

February 01, 2013

Happy Friday everyone! We're just headed out for dinner and then have a relaxing evening at home...after putting the horses and cow to bed, of course. I think I should devote a future post to the little hobby farm and the critters that inhabit it. They're an endless source of entertainment!

Anyhoo, welcome to another instalment of Fifties Friday! Today I thought I'd hunt down some accessories to go with the lovely dresses I wrote about in last week's Fifties Friday post. Pinks, reds, rhinestones and Lucite! What more could a girl ask for? Enjoy!

January 25, 2013

Good Morning! I thought I'd end this work week by starting a new feature, "Fifties Friday." In it I'll be showcasing items for sale from the Fifties that are appropriate to the current season (of course I'll be switching this up regularly for my lovely readers in Australia and New Zealand,) and showcasing upcoming holidays or themes that just happen to strike my fancy.

Without further ado, may I present nine gorgeous 1950's frocks that would be just wonderful for Valentine's Day (click the photo to be taken to the Seller's listing):

The Vintage Mistress has an incredible shop, full of beautifully photographed and carefully curated garments. This scarlet dress is no exception. It even has the original millinery flowers still attached to the dress...incredible after 60 years!

Also from The Vintage Mistress, this late 50's/early 60's dress. Lace Illusion bodice and a bubble hem at the back make this an original and stunning garment.

From Fancy That Vintage comes this girly cotton dress with lace and velvet detailing. Beautiful as it is in the photos but imagine it with a full crinoline!

I never cease to be inspired by the items for sale at Jumblelaya. The quality of the garments is incredible and the variety of items (most of them from the Thirties to the Fifties) is fantastic!

Also from Jumblelaya, taffeta and velveteen...what more is there to say? Stunning!

The eye-catching photos and carefully selected items at Dear Golden never cease to inspire me (and stare longinly at my wallet...) This party dress is a perfect example, with its full skirt, satin cummerbund and 3/4 length sleeves, this dress is an absolute show-stopper!

With a selection ranging from a wonderful pair of 70's Campus Boots to a pretty black, lace 50's overskirt, Old Faithful Vintage has something for everyone. This printed cotton shirtwaist would be absolutely perfect for a quiet Valentine's evening at home.

Consistently fabulous photographs is one of the reasons I'm a fan of Vacation Vintage and the photo above illustrates my point perfectly. This pastel beauty with ricrac detailing could do double duty for both Valentine's Day and Easter. Absolutely gorgeous!

With a wonderful selection of dresses and separates (and a couple of amazing handbags,) Deanne's Vintage will provide you with inspiration galore! This floral print dress with yellow detailing will take you from Valentine's Day into the late summer without skipping a beat.

Well, that's it for now. I've got an afternoon of baking ahead of me, including a chocolate torte peanut cream filled birthday cake - Yum! I hope you enjoyed this new feature and that your weekend is full of loveliness!

January 21, 2013

It's no secret that I adore pink. It's also no secret that if any of these were in my size (or not made of wool...sigh) I'd be keeping them! As a tribute to the most girly of holidays, I present to you the pinkest of the pink, available now in my shop.

January 19, 2013

I thought it may be neat to do an Instagram round-up every now and then. I really enjoyed putting this little photograph patchwork together as I was reminded of when these were taken and what I was doing at that time. I find that I have a tendency to post photos to Instagram and not think about them again, but this was a lot of fun! I'll definitely make it a regular feature on this blog.

Row 1:

* Pink Canisters found at a local thrift store

* Scottie Dog covered apple pie I made for 2 consecutive Christmas Dinners on the 25th & 26th (recipe here - I just cut out the Scottie Dogs from the top piece of pastry and overlapped them)

* My beloved grandmother passed away earlier this year and this handheld mirror was hers. Draped over it is my vintage beaded collar - I'm reminded that I need to make a dress with a high neckline so I can wear this!

* Our antique Philco radio, given to us by Derek's brother. Amazingly this still works and the CBC (Canada's national station) comes in loud and clear!

* A detail of the rose carving on our antique chesterfield. It needs reupholstering, but since it's so old it will probably cost a fortune. I've been patching the weak spots in the damask with other snippets of damask and I actually like the result! I'll have to post some photos of it soon...

January 18, 2013

I've had this dress in my shop for a few months now and it hasn't sold. I've tried it on and it fits me perfectly, but I'm not a late-60's kind of girl. I much prefer the 30's, some 40's, all of the 50's and the early 60's (think Mad Men seasons 1 & 2.) My struggle with this dress is this...I love, love, love the green fabric. Here's a close-up detail of all it's green and black swirly floral loveliness.

Now this is my dilemma...the skirt of the dress is lovely but the blouse? Well, it's just not my taste and judging by the fact that it's still in the shop, I'm not alone in that (although it does have 2 admirers...) What I would like to do (if I could get past the destruction of a vintage garment) is to use the skirt fabric and make this:

The green dress is simple and sweet and the black option has adorable little ruffles on the shoulders and neckline.

I think either of these would be amazing in the green and black fabric and the fact that the fabric and the pattern are vintage from the 60's satisfies that little OCD piece of myself that prefers to sew vintage garments out of vintage fabrics. Precisely the reason I sew on four Singers, the oldest dating to the late 1800's and the newest one is my Grandmother's from the late 60's, but that is a post for another day.

As a collector and seller of vintage clothing, I'm really struggling with remaking a 50 year old dress. Should I preserve it for the buyer who absolutely loves it (I'm sure they're out there somewhere) or should I just throw caution and conscience to the wind and accept the fact that I already love the fabric and should therefore make it into a garment I'll love, that's still period authentic to the fabric? Hmmm...I best sleep on it...

January 15, 2013

I've been working on this cardi for a month or so now. It's a looooooong make as the needles are size 12 (2.75mm)...tiny, tiny, tiny! I'm using Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace yarn in 11, a pale, mauvey pink colour. As this is a vintage Vogue Knitting pattern from the mid Fifties (UK publication) I wanted this cardi to be as authentic a reproduction as possible. I have a wool sensitivity but I don't seem to be bothered as much by Merino Wool as I am by others. Fingers crossed! Quite the risk for something that could, possibly take me until 2026 to finish, but that's the way I do things apparently...

Anyway, onto the pattern. Here's it is in all it's glory, in case any of you would like to print it out and knit along. I really do recommend the Rialto Lace yarn as it (hopefully) will only require 4 skeins (thereby offsetting the pricey Debbie Bliss loveliness) as Lace yarns have much more yardage than sock yarns or fingering yarns.

And yes, if you are my kind of crazy you can also knit the pleated skirt. Instructions below.

And just for the heck of it, here's an ad from the same issue. I adore Miss Under the Sky's matching teal hair band, but regardless of how much I love and covet Miss Under the Stars' sweater, she frightens me a wee bit. Okay, a lot. I suspect that lasers shot out of her eyes shortly after this photograph was taken...

Please let me know in the comments if you choose to give this pattern a try. I'd love to see photos too!

January 13, 2013

This is my current WIP, Butterick 7503 from the early Fifties. It's inside out in this shot, for no other reason than that was the way it was hanging when I came at it with my iPhone. It does allow you to see how obsessive I am about finishing my seams though. I'm beginning to think it's an illness of some sort...

I'm making the full-skirt, V-neck option first but I have a sneaky feeling that the wiggle skirt/Peter Pan collar version will be next. I just love the little keyhole detail.

My fabric is a vintage cotton blend print in gorgeous Autumn-y colours. I bought 6 yards of it with the intention of making a crochet rag rug, but as I crocheted with it, I realized that it would make a great dress! Thankfully I had enough yardage left over.

I decided to throw caution to the wind and not make a muslin. I did a sleeve adjustment to add a bit of fullness and skipped my usual FBA because the darts were fairly deep. It fits perfectly! Hooray! Well...except for the dreaded gape. Butterick's cryptic instructions left me no choice but to try to figure out the neckline facing myself which resulted in me strongly resembling an irate monkey trying to fit a square peg into a round hole for the better part of an hour. Unlike said monkey, I had the advantage of having access to sharp objects, including multiple seam rippers (never buy just one) and scissors and I seem to have figured it out...I hope. I'm not sure how I'm going to convince the bottom of the facing to lie flat, but I'm sure it will bend to my will eventually. I hope to finish it within the next day or two. Fingers crossed!